1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to pet supplies and, more particularly, to implements for cleaning animal waste from litter.
2. Description of Related Art
When animals such as cats are kept indoors for long periods of time, it is necessary to provide a place for them to leave waste (i.e., urinate or defecate), lest they may do so on the floor or the furniture within the residence. For this reason, many people train their pets to leave their waste in a box full of litter (i.e., a litter box). To keep litter boxes from emanating an unpleasant odor, it is necessary either to remove the animal waste from the used litter, or to discard the used litter having the animal waste therein and replace it with a new batch of litter. Many pets are even reluctant to use a litter box that is not cleaned regularly. Because it could become quite expensive to replace litter each time a pet uses a litter box, most people choose to use a so-called "litter scoop" to selectively separate the animal waste from the litter, thereby leaving the litter fresh and ready for another use by the pet.
A typical prior art litter scoop includes a receptacle adapted to receive a quantity of litter and a handle attached to the receptacle that may be grasped by a user to insert the receptacle into the litter underneath the animal waste. Generally, the receptacle in such a prior art device includes a screen that permits the litter to exit the receptacle yet retains the animal waste therein.